NCBiotech News

Ramona, a Durham provider of advanced imaging technology for life sciences, has launched a live-cell imaging system that significantly improves speed and throughput for analyzing cells. The Vireo system uses miniaturized video microscopes and real-time image processing through artificial intelligence. Ramona said in a news release that Vireo can help give scientists better, faster insights into drug discovery.

North Carolina’s life sciences industry has crossed a milestone – exceeding 100,000 jobs for the first time – and continues to outpace national industry growth and most other top-tier life sciences states. This key statistic and more are in the latest TEConomy Partners report “2024 Evidence & Opportunity: Impact of Life Sciences in North Carolina.” The North Carolina Biotechnology Center commissions TEConomy for this detailed look at North Carolina life sciences.

The Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce recognized Mark Phillips, vice president of statewide operations and executive director of the Eastern Regional Office for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, as its 2024 Citizen of the Year. Phillips was honored on Jan. 30 at the chamber’s annual membership celebration at Rock Springs Center.

North Carolina achieved a record-breaking year for life sciences investments in 2024.

Twenty-five companies announced expansions or new facilities totaling more than $10.8 billion. The projects are expected to create more than 4,500 jobs in 16 communities across the state.

A statewide program for military members transitioning to civilian life is getting a boost from a federal career training initiative. Military Outreach and Veterans Engagement (MOVE), launched in 2019 by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, has joined the U.S. Department of Defense’s SkillBridge initiative. SkillBridge provides retiring and transitioning service members with access to industry training programs offered by employers nationwide.

Not often is a company able to cut a ribbon for a new facility and hold a groundbreaking ceremony for another, on the same day, from the same stage. Amgen, the $30+ billion biotech company, accomplished that unique double-play on Friday, at an event at its growing campus in Holly Springs.

Brii Biosciences, a Durham biotechnology company with global headquarters in China, plans to buy the intellectual property and other remaining assets of a defunct company’s drug candidate for treating Hepatitis B virus.

A national life sciences service company is providing North Carolina startups with new options for unlocking space for turnkey product development and manufacturing facilities in Morrisville.

Azzur Cleanrooms on Demand (COD) has entered this acronym-laden environment to provide cleanroom and laboratory spaces for so-called GxP manufacturing support. Opened in May 2023, it’s a 75,000-square-foot rebirth of a former Sam’s Club site at 1101 Shiloh Glenn Drive in the Raleigh suburb.

IMMvention Therapeutix, Inc., a Durham early-stage biotechnology company focused on discovering and developing human therapeutics, will collaborate with Novo Nordisk A/S to co-develop oral therapies for sickle cell disease (SCD) and other chronic conditions. 

BMI OrganBank has secured a $3.5 million federal grant that will help the Winston-Salem company advance its kidney preservation technology and prepare for clinical trials.

The Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Institutes of Health is a significant milestone for the five-year-old company, CEO Carrie DiMarzio said in a statement.

Caidya, a clinical research organization (CRO) based in Raleigh, has raised $165 million in private equity to support its growth.

The investment came from funds managed by Rubicon Founders, a Nashville-based healthcare investment firm. Rubicon joins Caidya’s existing backers, including global venture capital, private equity and healthcare investors.

Ed Field discovered his passion for building biotechnology innovation while working with an equity-backed biopharma start-up in Seattle soon after obtaining his MBA from the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. He led the company to acquisition in 2002, and a career was born.

“I learned I really enjoyed meeting entrepreneurs and understanding what they were trying to build,” he said in a recent interview with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center. “It’s not an easy life, but it is challenging and rewarding to be a part of this industry.”

Tune Therapeutics, an epigenome-editing company with origins at Duke University, has raised over $175 million in financing to advance a potential treatment for chronic hepatitis B and other diseases. The financing – among the largest ever for a North Carolina life science company – was led by New Enterprise Associates, Yosemite, Regeneron Ventures and Hevolution Foundation.

The Piedmont Triad Regenerative Medicine Engine (PTRME), funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), has awarded six regional companies $2.5 million in grants as part of its inaugural Ecosystem Building Grant program.

Regenerative medicine aims to repair or replace damaged cells, tissues and organs using technologies like stem cells, tissue engineering, gene editing and biomaterials to stimulate natural healing or create functional replacements.

Durham-based Tavros Therapeutics, a precision oncology company spun out of Duke University, has been acquired by a subsidiary of global life sciences titan Bayer AG.

Financial terms of the deal with San Diego-based Vividion Therapeutics, an independent and wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer, were not disclosed.